"Are you really okay like that?" Saitama responded with concern.
"Ah... actually, this is nothing." The moment the words left his lips, the scene around him blurred, and Lexon's shattered half-body was restored as if it had never been damaged.
Even his Six Paths Haori was re-woven and reshaped, sparing him the embarrassment of being naked.
For the current Lexon, injuries of this caliber truly meant nothing; they were easily mended.
"As long as you're okay," Saitama said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Now, who was the one saying not to get distracted?" The voice arrived significantly slower than the figure itself.
BOOM!
A pitch-black shakujo, wreathed in a dark red aura and infused with terrifying power, slammed violently into Saitama's shoulder. It sent him hurtling downward with a deafening explosion, carving out a massive crater and kicking up a dense cloud of dust.
"Swords."
Lexon waved his other arm.
As his arm moved, the space around him distorted. Hundreds of Truth-Seeking Orbs, which he had previously retracted when they proved ineffective against Saitama, manifested from within a swirling spatial vortex.
Answering his call, the forms of the hundreds of Truth-Seeking Orbs shifted instantly, transforming into longswords as black as ink.
"Fall."
He extended a finger and pointed downward.
In an instant, the hundreds of black swords plummeted following his finger, leaving clear ripples in space along their trajectory. They swept away the dust, homing in directly on the life signature at the center of the giant crater.
While the annihilation properties of the Power of All Creation had no effect on Saitama, as products forged from Six Paths Power, their hardness and offensive potential were still forces to be reckoned with.
However... for Saitama...
His fists were enough to shatter any illusion.
"Consecutive Normal Punches." A calm voice spoke as his fists blurred into hundreds of afterimages.
Every single plunging black sword was struck by Saitama and sent flying back, scattered in all directions.
Whoosh!
Saitama originally thought it was just another sword and instinctively struck out with a normal punch.
Screeech—
But then, something unexpected happened.
The incoming object didn't fly back upon impact. Instead, it pressed against his fist in a fierce clash, seemingly resisting and emitting a bone-chilling, piercing screech.
As Saitama focused his gaze, he identified the object in front of his fist.
It was the black shakujo Lexon held, wreathed in that dark red aura!
'No... not enough power.'
Saitama realized a moment later that the force of his Normal Punch wasn't enough to contend with the shakujo's power. Just as he was about to ramp up his strength...
From the corner of his eye, Lexon's silhouette abruptly appeared beside him.
'Going for an opening? But... I've already reacted, Lexon... and so...'
Saitama made a split-second decision. Rather than immediately increasing the power in his fist, he twisted his body, swinging his hips to drive his leg into a simple, rapid whip kick.
Before the kick connected, Saitama could clearly see a look of surprise flash across Lexon's face.
But when the kick actually landed, the sensation and sound of striking flesh did not travel back up his leg.
'Wait... this isn't him!'
Saitama realized it instantly.
POOF!
A block of wood emerging from a puff of white smoke confirmed Saitama's suspicion.
However... it was too late!
"You slipped up." Accompanied by teasing words, a sudden surge of immense force erupted from the tip of the shakujo, delivered by the figure standing on the staff's head, hair and haori fluttering in the wind.
'This is bad.'
By the time Saitama thought to increase his strength, it was already too late.
In an instant, Saitama's fist lost the struggle. The shakujo bypassed his hand and slammed heavily into his chest.
Instantly, Saitama was sent flying like a cannonball, shattering boulders and smashing through small mountains. He didn't stop until he had tumbled dozens of miles away.
"Night Guy!"
Without a moment's pause, a hollow yet steady and powerful voice drifted down from the sky.
It was that sky-altering, dark red, violent dragon head once again, descending from the air like divine wrath.
"Serious Series: Serious Punch." Just as the dragon head was about to reach Saitama, in the nick of time, he threw out his serious fist.
But at the very moment the straight punch was about to make contact with the dragon head...
The terrifying, violent dragon head suddenly dispersed, vanishing into a puff of white smoke.
Lexon was using his old tricks again!
The 'Night Guy' just now had been a feint too!
"Ultimate Annihilation."
A muffled voice suddenly echoed from the distance.
Saitama looked toward the source in confusion, only to see the dark red aura on Lexon's body flowing rapidly, continuously converging toward his clenched right fist!
It was as if he were charging up!
The energy gathered and compressed at his right fist.
Collapsing into a single point!
Lexon's life energy toggled back and forth between constant depletion and constant replenishment.
His entire being flickered in and out of brilliance, like a malfunctioning light bulb!
[DANGER]
For some reason, Saitama could clearly feel that sensation coming from Lexon's compressed fist.
He could have easily rushed forward at this moment to interrupt Lexon's obvious charging skill.
However, Saitama chose not to.
Instead, he took a stance and prepared himself for the clash.
"Be ready to catch this... Saitama." Lexon, who seemed to have finished charging, wore a gentle smile on his noticeably pale face as he said, "This is all the power I have right now."
His right fist had completely lost its shape, looking more like he was clutching a sphere of incredibly dense, dark red matter.
"Bring it on, Lexon," Saitama replied with a calm smile. "I'll make sure to catch every bit of it—all your strength."
"Yeah." Lexon nodded slightly.
Ultimate Annihilation.
The name of the technique echoed in Lexon's mind.
This was an original technique he had created.
And a very simple one at that.
Converging all his power using the Gate of Death as a medium, he nearly drained his immortal vitality to focus it into a single point.
This represented Lexon's absolute maximum output at this moment.
He swung his right hand, bringing forth masses of extremely dense black and red matter.
Crrack... Snap... Shatter...
Suddenly, a sound of shattering erupted from an unknown source.
There was clearly a significant distance between Saitama and Lexon, yet at this moment, it was as if it didn't exist.
Lexon's swinging fist bypassed the space between them, appearing directly in front of Saitama!
Upon closer inspection, it was shocking to see that the stretches of space between them were actually shattering like glass, revealing voids of 'nothingness'! That was the source of the sound from before!
'So strong...'
Through his warrior's intuition, Saitama could clearly feel the power contained within Lexon's punch.
This was an attack infinitely stronger than any he had ever faced from his most powerful opponents in the past!
"Serious Series: Serious Strike."
And so, Saitama would respond with an attack of sufficient strength.
Not just because the intensity of the attack warranted it, but also out of respect for Lexon pouring everything he had into this blow.
Yet for Saitama, the punch was still delivered so plainly, so normally, and so naturally.
There were no extra fluctuations.
Just like that, a simple punch—as if thrown casually—clashed with Lexon's imposing 'Ultimate Annihilation'.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Successive thunderous roars echoed as if the heavens and earth were being shattered.
The black and red matter that Lexon had collapsed into a single point began to vent outward violently! Yet Saitama's fist remained as immovable as an ancient mountain, standing firm against the onslaught of energy!
However, during their struggle, it wasn't just the space pierced by 'Ultimate Annihilation' that was collapsing. Most of the rest of the Root Dimension was emitting ear-piercing shrieks like a death wail, gradually cracking apart.
"This place is going to collapse!!" In the distance, Fubuki, protected by a shield, couldn't help but look panicked as she screamed.
"Don't panic! Have faith in Mr. Lexon and Saitama-sensei!" Genos said firmly, though there was a faint trace of hesitation in his voice.
"Is this... really... power that a human can possess...?" Mumen Rider watched the distant figures clashing through binoculars, murmuring in shock and hesitation.
...
In the real world, inside the Hero Association Headquarters in City A.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Accompanied by flashing red lights, an annoying alarm continued to blare.
"What's going on? Why are the readings so huge?!!" Guqi struggled to grab onto the console to steady himself. "Investigate immediately! Find the cause! Has another terrifying monster threat appeared?!"
"We don't know! The cause is unknown! All we know is that every branch office is reporting the same energy readings!" a female clerk responded.
"What could it be..." Guqi couldn't help but worry. "I just hope it isn't some disaster..."
...
Somewhere in the Arctic on Earth.
Blade Demon, with black hair, black clothes, and a cold expression, walked past the corpses of dinosaur-like creatures, his black blade in hand.
Suddenly, the ground shook so violently it was nearly impossible to stand.
"This feeling..." Blade Demon's body didn't waver in the slightest. His gaze lowered slightly to the snow-covered ground, and an expression of excitement suddenly surfaced on his cold face. "It's the resonance of a battle. Powerful warriors!"
With that, Blade Demon changed direction and headed toward the source.
...
In reality, the shockwaves from the clash between Saitama and Lexon didn't just spread throughout the Root Dimension.
They were even transmitted back to Earth through the Root Dimension, causing a global disturbance.
Fortunately, the Earth in the One Punch Man world had heroes, and because of the constant monster threats, the buildings were much sturdier... the general public's response to such crises was also very efficient.
As a result, the disturbance only caused injuries to a small number of civilians, with no fatalities reported.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]